Man Invents ‘Smart Cane’ That Uses Sensors And Google Maps To Help The Blind Avoid Obstacles

The world we live in is full of visually impaired people but also not very ‘accessible’ to them. Everything we do is build around those who can see and so for those who are blind or struggling with their vision, life can be a bit complicated.

According to WHO, there are at least 50 million people in the world who use canes for their vision impairment and while it does help, these canes could use a lot of improvements especially considering the technology we have in this day and age. The ‘WeWalk’ cane might be the improvement the world has been waiting for.

The WeWalk can is essentially a ‘smart cane’ helps in ways other canes cannot as it is aimed at helping protect users from low-hanging objects and things they otherwise wouldn’t be able to detect without bumping into them. Because the CEO and co-founder of this interesting product is blind himself, there is no way around how truly progressed this product is. It has been tested quite extensively and can benefit many.

The WeWalk cane can detect obstacles above chest level with ultrasonic sensors and warns users with vibrations according to the WeWalk website and when paired with the APP itself can be linked up with navigation in a manner that doesn’t require the user to even take their phone out of their pocket. It has a voice assistant and even, Google Maps.

While you might think something like this would cost a fortune, it is quite affordable coming in at only about 500 dollars. This is easily the world’s most developed smart cane and it really blows the minds of all who come across it. Sure, we would all like to see food warping and time machines in the future but things like this are happening right now, and they are much more fascinating than we stop to realize. When you really think about it, isn’t it extraordinary?

“In these days we are talking about flying cars,” says Kursat Ceylan, CEO, and founder of WeWalk, “but these people have been using just a plain stick.”

Ceylan, who has been blind since birth, says that connecting the stick to the Internet of Things and smart city solutions make it user-friendly.

“As a blind person, when I am at the Metro station I don’t know which is my exit … I don’t know which bus is approaching … [or] which stores are around me. That kind of information can be provided with the WeWalk,” he says.

To learn more about this cane please feel free to check out the video below. What do you think about all of this? Do you know anyone who could benefit from this cane? This is truly life-changing and I believe that is what makes it so marvelous.